WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Cattlemen from across Kansas will be converging in Wichita next week for the annual convention of the Kansas Livestock Association amid all-time high cattle prices.

The three-day event that begins Wednesday touches on nutrition, cattle markets and retail sales.

Thursday will feature a presentation from CattleFax Executive Vice President Randy Blach talking about the cattle market outlook.

He will analyze on Thursday the factors behind the record prices along with a prediction for how long that profitability might last. He is expected to also discuss the rate of expansion of cattle herds and what that bodes for beef supplies.

Walmart executive Brittni Furrow is on tap Friday to explain her company’s global approach to sustainably produced food items and is expected to talk about where beef fits in it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has done his part to support independently owned businesses as the holiday shopping season begins.

Obama bought at least two bags of books Saturday during a stop at Washington’s Politics and Prose bookstore.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving has been promoted in recent years as “Small Business Saturday.” It’s designed to encourage shopping at independent stores in between the frenzy of Black Friday sales at large retailers and Cyber Monday deals from online sellers.

Obama browsed the racks with his daughters Malia and Sasha.

He held one shopper’s baby and was encouraged by another patron to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Obama replied that he’s working on closing the prison.

There was no immediate word from the White House on which titles Obama bought.

FREDONIA- A Kansas man died in an accident just before 1 p.m. on Saturday in Wilson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy Suburban driven by Sarah Robinson, 83, Fredonia, was eastbound on Kansas 39.

The vehicle attempted to turn left onto County Road 1700, failed to yield and a 2014 Harley Davidson motorcycle that was westbound on Kansas 39 struck the Suburban.

The motorcycle rider Roy Myers, 66, Chanute, was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.

Robinson was not injured.
The KHP reported Myers was wearing a helmet and face shield.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas livestock expert is warning ranchers and farmers that historically high cattle prices make their herds a prime target for thieves looking to make a quick buck.

Extension agent Anthony Ruiz suggests ranchers should brand their cattle and install cameras on their property to keep an eye out for rustlers.

Earlier this month someone stole a dozen Black Angus steers and heifers from a northwest Kansas ranch, with an estimated value of $20,000. The Salina Journal reports the theft was a “quick grab-and-go.”

In September someone dumped a load of cowhides in McPherson County. Ruiz says that indicates the cattle might have been stolen.

A Farmers & Ranchers Livestock Commission market report said steers were selling between $1,300 and $2,000 per head in late November.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence in a deadly crash at a northeast Kansas intersection.

The Kansas City Star  reports that 32-year-old Souksavanh Chamnongchith is jailed in Johnson County on $100,000 bond. It isn’t immediately known if he has an attorney.

Olathe police say a vehicle headed west on an Olathe street collided around 3 a.m. Thursday with car going north on U.S. 56. The 31-year-old driver of the northbound vehicle was taken to a hospital, where he died. The victim’s name wasn’t immediately released.

Chamnongchith was driving the westbound vehicle and wasn’t injured.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas students will try again to overload the state’s online platform for standardized math and reading tests to help developers identify any glitches before spring testing.

This time they will get help from students in Alaska, which also uses tests designed and administered by the Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports more than 130,000 Kansas students went online last month to take shortened versions of the tests. Center director Marianne Perie says that exercise revealed some technical problems her staff is working to resolve.

In January students from Kansas and Alaska will team up to access tests on the same day to see if they can log in and view and complete questions without any problems.

By KHI News Service

TOPEKA — A Kansas City, Kan., home health attendant has been convicted in a federal case based on fraudulent Medicaid billing practices.

Doris Betts, 55, pleaded guilty to health care fraud in U.S. District Court. Her conviction was announced this week by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, whose office is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to investigate home health care fraud in Kansas.

Betts’ conviction is the first from the joint operation, dubbed “Operation No Show,” which focuses on abuse of Medicaid’s home- and community-based services program that pays personal care attendants to assist qualifying Medicaid recipients with general household activities and personal care.

The Attorney General’s Office and HHS agreed to recommend a sentence of 18 months in prison for Betts, followed by three years of supervised release and $251,573.32 restitution to the Kansas Medicaid program. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6, 2015.

The investigation found that between January 2008 and December 2013, Betts falsely billed for providing in-home services to two or more clients at the same time in different locations, while the client was hospitalized, and while Betts was at her own medical appointments.

Nationwide, the personal care attendant program has been the top source of fraud complaints to state Medicaid fraud units.

In addition to the Betts case, the joint investigation has led to 11 other criminal case filings by Schmidt’s office.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – a member of the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee – has called on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to listen to feedback from producers in Kansas and across the country who have real concerns about the creation of a new beef checkoff under the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996.

“Cattlemen have been loud and clear in their objections to a new beef checkoff,” Sen. Moran said. “I am deeply concerned that USDA is ignoring the voices of producers. I believe changes to the checkoff should be supported by producers, and not forced upon them by the federal government.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A U.S. firm that helps connect more than 700 companies with customers through social media says a Syrian group hacked the company’s web address to upload a message to other websites.

Gigya CEO Patrick Salyer outlined what happened in a blog published Thursday.

The executive says hackers rerouted Internet traffic from its website to a computer server that generated a message to visitors that their site had been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army.

Published reports noted the message appeared on websites for several UK newspapers, CNBC and the National Hockey League.

Gigya says no user or company data was compromised in the hack.

The Syrian group aligns itself with Syrian President Bashar Assad. It has previously taken credit for hacking media sites like E! Online and the BBC.